Transformer usage reform could jeopardize Israel's solar future

Israel: A surprise decision by the Israel’s Electric Authority to set ceiling on transformer usage might endanger the plans of supplying solar power to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) monopoly grid.

Only ten days before Israel’s first-evertender for solar power providers to connect with the power grid based on tariffs they set, the IEC announced it cannot guarantee it will be able to take all the electricity that will be on offer due to a newly approved decision by the Electricity Authority that sets a ceiling on maximum usage of the power network’s transformers at 60%, reports Haaretz.

This might jeopardize years of planning by companies planning to supply solar power to IEC’s grid, as well as the government’s goal of sourcing 10% of the country’s electricity supply on renewable energy by 2020.

The tender is the first in which solar providers will bid using tariffs they themselves set, rather than agreeing on predetermined rates. Officials expect the new system will lead to lower rates and accelerate the usage of solar power.

According to Haaretz, while the Electric Authority denied the new ceiling would have a “major impact” on the availability of the network in general to accept power from private providers, IEC took a different line and said it wasn’t ready to take on the solar power that would be generated.